Thursday, November 20, 2014

The
Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a
settlement agreement with Ahold U.S.A. Inc. and Peapod LLC, the owners
and operators of www.peapod.com [external link],
to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). Peapod is America’s leading Internet grocer, delivering more
than 23 million orders in 12 Midwest and East Coast states and the
District of Columbia. The agreement resolves the department’s
allegations that www.peapod.com [external link]
is not accessible to some individuals with disabilities, including
individuals who are blind or have low vision, individuals who are deaf
or hard of hearing, and individuals who have physical disabilities
affecting manual dexterity.
Many individuals with disabilities use computers and other electronic
devices to access the Internet with the help of assistive technologies,
including text-to-speech “screen reader” software programs, refreshable
Braille displays, keyboard navigation and captioning. Such
technologies have been readily available and widely used for decades;
however, websites must include programming for the assistive
technologies to function properly for users with disabilities.
Inaccessible websites and mobile applications persist even while there
are well-established industry guidelines – the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 – for making web content accessible.
Under the agreement, Peapod is required to adopt measures to ensure
that users with disabilities are able to fully and equally enjoy the
various goods, services, facilities and accommodations provided through www.peapod.com [external link] including:

“This agreement ensures that people with disabilities will have an
equal opportunity to independently and conveniently shop online for
groceries,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the
Civil Rights Division. “We applaud Peapod for working cooperatively
with the department and for its commitment to customers with
disabilities.”
Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of
disability by public accommodations in the full and equal enjoyment of
the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages and
accommodations of places of public accommodations. Title III of the ADA
also requires public accommodations to take necessary steps to ensure
individuals with disabilities are not excluded, denied services,
segregated, or otherwise treated differently because of the absence of
auxiliary aids and services, such as accessible electronic information.
The Justice Department has long considered Title III and its
implementing regulation to apply to the online services and
communications of public accommodations.

Who We Are

EmpowerTech is a Los Angeles-based non-profit that teaches persons with disabilities basic computer skills that allow them to achieve unprecedented levels of independence, self-confidence and fulfillment.